MST3K 702 - The Brute Man
The Short The Chicken of Tomorrow Synopsis We learn what is being done 'today' to create the Chicken of Tomorrow (complete with the growth process of the chicken), with a side mention of how important gas stations and oil are to the poultry industry. Information *The short is narrated by Lowell Thomas, the famous American journalist, traveler and radio announcer (and also the inspiration for Arthur Kennedy's character in Lawrence of Arabia). The Movie Synopsis Rondo Hatton plays Hal Moffat, aka the Creeper, who is seeking revenge on those responsible for his disfigurement many years ago. He falls in love with a blind pianist, who is unable to convince him to change his vengeful ways. The Episode Host Segments Prologue: Tom has become heavily involved in real estate, buying a duplex in Philadelphia with his agent Sherrie. He is convinced he needs no money to actually buy one. Segment One: Pearl is going out on a date with the oily Sandy and puts Art in charge. The rest of the SOL crew is somewhat dismayed, especially after Crow takes his power too seriously. Segment Two: Tom is inside an egg so that he and Crow can make an educational film. Mike decides that he will miss Tom too much over his twenty-one day gestation period, and attempts to remove him from the shell; instead, he slips and Tom ends up all over the floor. Segment Three: Mike calls his old girlfriend Carla and tries to get her to help him escape, but she puts her little boy Matthew on the phone. Then Tom makes Matthew hang up because he's expecting a call from Sherrie. Segment Four: Crow wants Mike and Tom to help him sing "The Crimes of Tom Dooley", except they will substitute the name of Republican Presidential candidate Tom Dewey because a character in the film (actor Tom Neal playing Clifford Scott) vaguely resembles Dewey. Mike and Tom aren't that into it. Segment Five: Tom closes on his duplex and ends up being the worst landlord ever as Mike reads letters. In Deep 13, Dr. F turns Pearl’s date into a chicken of tomorrow. Stinger: The crotchety grocer says, "Creeper, Creeper, Creeper! YOU give ME the creeps!" Other Notes *This was the last episode in the Comedy Central era to have a short. The next use of a short would be the Season 9 episode The Space Children. *This was the only episode from Season 7 to not be ranked in the Top 100 Poll among backers of the Bring Back MST3K Kickstarter. *Stand-up comedian Laura Kightlinger has a bit in her act that is also about the experience of being placed on the phone with a barely-verbal child (as depicted in Host Segment Three). Viewers who enjoyed this sketch can see Kightlinger's take here (the phone bit begins at 12:09). Guest Stars *''Sandy'': Paul Chaplin *''Carla (voice): Bridget Jones *''Matthew (voice): Paul Chaplin Callbacks * “Oh, it’s true.” (The Dead Talk Back) * Pearl calling Crow "Art" * When Crow sees the “23” on the Creeper’s lair: “Hey it’s KTMA!” Obscure References * "I've seen the episode where the eggs start coming too fast and she puts them in her mouth!" Referencing a classic I Love Lucy episode where she is working on an assembly line wrapping chocolates. * "Woah, Milton Berle there." Show business legend has it that Milton Berle was quite well-endowed in terms of his male anatomy. * "Et tu, Brute Man?" A play on Julius Caesar's legendary final words, Et tu, Brute?. * "It's Goofus and Gallant!" Goofus and Gallant are two characters who regularly appear in an instructional feature in the magazine ''Highlights for Children''. Goofus is ill-mannered and often disheveled while Gallant is polite and well-groomed. * "For you, Miss Moss, and you, Miss Taylor." Kate Moss and Niki Taylor were two famous models in the 90s known for being extremely thin. * "I'm being followed by a brute shadow..." A parody of the Cat Stevens song "Moon Shadow". * "Everybody talk me, can't hear word say." A variation on the song "Everybody's Talkin'", the best known version of which is the one performed by Harry Nilsson and used in the opening scene of the movie "Midnight Cowboy." * "It's me..." "Satchmo?" Louis Armstrong, known by the nickname "Satchmo", was known for a gravelly, guttural voice. * "Professor Cushman was laid to rest in a tiny, battery-powered car!" A reference to Cushman, a company that manufactures golf carts and parking-patrol vehicles. *''"Exit stage left, even!"'' A signature line from the Hanna Barbara character Snagglepuss . * "It's the plumber! I've come to fix the sink!" A reference to an animated short that appeared on the educational TV series The Electric Company. * "They forgot my Fruit Brute cereal!" Fruit Brute is a breakfast cereal made from 1975 to 1983 and revived in 2013, part of the same "Monster Series" as Count Chocula. * "He's Big Head Todd *and* the Monster!" A reference to the band Big Head Todd and the Monsters *''"Hey, it's KTMA!"'' KTMA was channel 23 (UHF) in Minneapolis, birthplace of Mystery Science Theater. * "He was the athlete and I was the scholar.""Let's make lots of money!" Crow is quoting the song "Opportunities" by the Pet Shop Boys. The riff plays on the similarities to the lyrics: "I got the brains. You got the looks! Let's make lots of money!" * "It's the Cheyenne Social Club!" The Cheyenne Social Club was a Western comedy film starring Jimmy Stewart as a man who inherits a bordello. * "Oh great, all my Gallery mags are in here!" ''Gallery'' is a pornographic magazine. * "Steelies!" "Steelies" are a type of marbles. *As the Creeper walks down the street after murdering the jeweler, Crow hums the first few bars of the Sesame Street theme song. * "Let me put it this way, have you ever seen 'Chained Heat'?" Chained Heat was a 1983 exploitation film set in a women's prison. * "Rick Astley is selling newspapers!" Rick Astley is a British pop singer with a distinctive haircut. * "And now...The End is near. So I face the final curtain!" "For what is a man? What has he got?!" Lyrics from the song "My Way" which was popularized by Frank Sinatra. * "It's the preacher from The Right Stuff." In the movie The Right Stuff, ''a visit from the base's chaplain usually meant that one of the pilots had died in an accident, so he was seen as something of a harbinger of doom. * (''Crow singing) Hang on, Snoopy! Snoopy, Hang on! "Not Sloopy!" Hang On Sloopy is a song made popular by the band The McCoys. While there are a parody or two making the change, many people tend to be inflicted by mondegreens and honestly believe it is Snoopy, referring to the famous beagle belonging to Charlie Brown. Video releases *The Chicken of Tomorrow short was included on Shorts Vol 1, released by Rhino Entertainment on VHS in July 1998, and on DVD in February 2003 as part of The Mystery Science Theater 3000 Collection: Volume 2, a 4-DVD set with Cave Dwellers, Pod People and Angels Revenge. *The entire episode was commercially released on DVD by Shout! Factory in December 2011 as part of Volume XXII, a 4-disc set along with Time of the Apes, Mighty Jack, and The Violent Years. **The DVD includes an introduction by Mary Jo Pehl, the Ballyhoo Motion Pictures feature Trail of the Creeper: Making The Brute Man, and The Making of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Category:MST3K Episodes Category:Season 7 Category:Episodes with shorts Category:Unrated movies Category:Episodes directed by Kevin Murphy Category:1940s movies Category:Crime movies